SAUGUS — Denise Graffeo was the first woman awarded the Hermann G. Rusch Chef’s Achievement Award by the American Culinary Federation (ACF) this year.
Graffeo’s beginnings as a chef started at various restaurants, before working her way up to The Ritz-Carlton hotel in Boston in 1978, now The Newbury Hotel.
During her time there, she felt that she had to prove herself in the culinary world which was still largely male-dominated.
“52 cooks, and me. I say that because 51 of them were men, and then, there was me.” Graffeo said.
She was the first female chef at The Eastern Yacht Club in Marblehead, and the first woman to be inducted into the American Academy of Chefs’ Hall of Fame in 2017. Breaking glass ceilings is nothing new for Graffeo.
She said that breaking barriers is still gives her a rush. This particular award, the Hermann G. Rusch, meant a lot to her as her late husband, Tony, had won the award as well.
“This one was more emotional than the other ones,” Graffeo said. “The other ones, I knew I had a goal, and I was striving, and if it took me four more years, I would still make it…because when you’re a chef, that’s what drives you — the inner fortitude to make you win…to make it better.”
Graffeo said when she moved from working at The Ritz-Carlton and went to the Eastern Yacht Club, she helped to put on many themed events around movies, such as “Forrest Gump” and “Toy Story.”
The excitement of the restaurant filling up as the night goes on is what made Graffeo love the restaurant industry.
“You start with an empty dining room, and then by the end of the meal period, everybody’s happy and having a few drinks, and they’re in a good mood.”
The Epicurean Club of Boston, of which Graffeo is a member, was founded in 1894, and it is the oldest chapter in America of the ACF.
Graffeo said that the culinary world can be small, saying that she had run into a chef which she had worked alongside at the Ritz Carlton during her time in Phoenix Arizona, where she received the Herman G. Rusch award on July 17.
She said her favorite type of cuisine to make is seafood, but she truly enjoys how food can enhance ones experience. She said she loves the storytelling that food can bring about, sharing an anecdote about painstakingly preparing show-stopping soufflés for food judges.
“They were thrilled, because it was the Eastern Yacht Club, and the view was wonderful, and the food was wonderful, and they had a fabulous Escoffier dessert.”
After moving from the restaurant business, Graffeo received her master’s degree in education from Cambridge College in 1990, teaching briefly at local institutions like North Shore Community College and Saugus High School.
Since retiring focuses on helping to provide scholarships through her membership in groups such as Les Dames d’Escoffier, the Epicurean Club of Boston, and the ACF, where recently she recently helped to raise $20,000 through a golf tournament.
Graffeo said during her time as a chef she always emphasize the importance of being mindful of the ingredients because it shows patrons that the chefs care.
Graffeo said for her, cooking for her can be summed up in one word — love.
“It’s love on a plate,” Graffeo said.
